1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of cutting into square pieces a laminated workpiece having thin flat strips crosswise arranged at different levels in its thickness. Such a laminated workpiece, however, has no lattice pattern visible on its upper surface. One example of such a square piece is a laminated ceramic condenser.
2. Related Arts
Optical means is used to determine the strip-to-strip interval from the strip ends exposed on one selected side of a laminated workpiece, and the crosswise sections are presumably determined from the so determined strip-to-strip interval. This necessitates use of complicated optical means, and cannot be applied to a laminated object having no strip ends appearing on its sides.
In cutting such a laminated object having no strip ends exposed on its sides one or more "V"-shaped grooves are cut on the upper surface of the laminated object to expose the strip ends on the inclined surfaces of the "V"-shaped groove, thus permitting determination of the strip-to-strip interval for determining the crosswise cutting sections.
This, however, necessitates use of two different cutting machines for cutting "V"-shaped grooves and for cutting a laminated object into square pieces, and transportation means for transporting "V"-grooved workpieces from the grooving machine to the cutting machine. This causes extra expense and labor in cutting laminated workpieces.
Still disadvantageously, transportation from the grooving machine to the cutting machine requires reorientation of the grooved workpiece relative to the cutting blade in the cutting machine. Accordingly the workability is lowered.